‘JANET’ DOMINATES BUDGET DEBATE

By Staff Writer

Tuesday’s budget debate was a veritable rematch of the debate of the Strategic Policy Statement(SPS) of the National Coalition For Caymanians(NCFC) government.

Hon. Leader of the Opposition Joey Hew - who almost missed his speaking opportunity - showed up just in time and wasted no time seeking to unravel the government’s budget projections.

“The Government calls this a transformational budget. Transformation must be measured not in speeches but in change that families can feel,” Mr Hew stated.

THE IMAGINED ‘JANET OF GEORGE TOWN NORTH’

In a reference reminiscent of former US President Barack Obama’s famous Joe-the-Plumber campaign slogan (based on a typical working-class man struggling to make ends meet), Opposition Leader Hew introduced Cayman to Janet. Cast as an imaginary hardworking mother of two from George Town North struggling to make ends meet, Mr Hew said her circumstances reflected how out of touch the NCFC budget is.

“By the time Janet has paid those unavoidable costs, she is left with nothing, not for savings, not for emergencies, not for hope. This is not a story of laziness or irresponsibility. This is a reality of a Caymanian doing everything right and still falling short. And while this budget speaks to prudence, it offers her very little relief.”

He said the government’s plans fell short; from healthcare to housing, cost of living, uncertainties about the impact of the proposed new immigration laws, tourism, traffic, the landfill project, education, the environment, and the state of Seven Mile Beach - which he said “it’s not just sand, it’s our brand”. 

The PPM leader argued that a Progressives government would have done things differently and better.

“The PPM have proposed a series of cost-of-living measures that would bring down, bring some immediate relief, a reduction in port duties on essential goods, a suspension of the recent vehicle registration fee increases and a temporary 12-month cut on fuel import duties. These are not radical ideas. They are reasonable steps to help households breathe again.”

According to Mr Hew, “This Budget, for all its rhetoric of

transformation follows a familiar formula: tax, borrow, and spend.”

TAX, BORROW, SPEND

In his scrutiny of the NCFC budget, former PPM/Progressives finance minister Roy McTaggart also recapped some of the reservations he had expressed during the previous Strategic Policy Statement(SPS) debate..

“In my contribution to the debate on the SPS, three short weeks ago, I pointed out the three themes that I saw are moving through the SPS. They are tax, borrow and spend. Not surprisingly, those themes are also relevant today and firmly established within the budget we are debating tax, borrow and spend.” He said there is nothing transformational about this budget, calling it a return to what he described as “the well-known formula that introduces new taxes with few details and little or no consultation, borrows money to plug the shortfall in spending not covered by revenues, and all in support of the government’s expansive revenue spending plans across ministries, often without any measurable outcomes.”

New MP and Minister for District Administration and Home Affairs, Nickolas DaCosta, spoke in support of the budget across his portfolio responsibilities, his Cayman Brac West and Little Cayman constituency and the wider community.

On the ‘tax, borrow, spend’ label applied to the NCFC government by the Progressives, he retorted: “The truth is we are reinvesting, we’re not indulging. They postponed and this government will deliver,” he stated accusing the Progressives of neglecting the long term needs of the country and failing to effectively manage the economy while they were in government.

Meanwhile, another new MP, Pearlina McGaw-Lumsden of the opposition Progressives, questioned the NCFC government’s description of the budget as transformative.

“Caymanians are not feeling transformation,” she stated. “They are asking: ‘Will this budget make our lives better than the last one?’

Addressing the cost of living challenges, the new Progressives MP said: “Families doing their best are being asked to survive on outdated figures that are no longer reflective of reality.”

ANGLIN: A CREDIBLE BUDGET

However, once again defending the NCFC administration’s first budget (as he did with the recent SPS), Minister of Finance Rolston Anglin lamented the state of the government’s finances he inherited. In response to the questions about the government’s fiscal policies to address the pre-existing problems, he pushed back, asking, “Why weren’t they addressed then?”

“We delivered a credible budget. We delivered a budget that we believe is going to assist greatly in moving the country forward.”

THE REAL ‘JANET’ OF CAYMAN

In response to Opposition leader Hew invoking the persona of a hardworking and struggling ‘Janet from George Town North’, the Finance Minister shot back with his own real-life examples: his parents.

“I was raised by a mother who held two jobs,” he stated. “I know Janet. I was raised by Janet. The vast majority of us on the side of the house were raised by a Janet. Janet did not come into existence during 2025.”

He blamed the Progressives during their term for not doing enough for people like ‘Janet’ and said the policies being put in place by the NCFC would benefit Caymanians like ‘Janet’.

In a spirited rejection of criticisms from the opposition Progressives, Mr Anglin devoted much time to the issue of prioritising Caymanians in employment and opportunities for advancement.

“I see a country with limitless possibilities,” he declared, stressing that Caymanians and Cayman culture and identity must be at the forefront.

WHO’S JANET?

Opposition Leader Hew introduced Cayman to Janet. Cast as an imaginary hardworking mother of two from George Town North struggling to make ends meet, Mr Hew said her circumstances reflected how out of touch the NCFC budget is.

In response to Opposition leader Hew invoking the persona of a hardworking and struggling ‘Janet from George Town North’, the Finance Minister shot back with his own real-life examples: his parents.

TAX, BORROW, SPEND

In his scrutiny of the NCFC budget, former PPM/Progressives finance minister Roy McTaggart also recapped some of the reservations he had expressed during the previous Strategic Policy Statement(SPS) debate..

“In my contribution to the debate on the SPS, three short weeks ago, I pointed out the three themes that I saw are moving through the SPS. They are tax, borrow and spend.

ANGLIN: A CREDIBLE BUDGET

Minister of Finance Rolston Anglin lamented the state of the government’s finances he inherited. “We delivered a credible budget. We delivered a budget that we believe is going to assist greatly in moving the country forward.”